Telpher

[velotrain]

I was looking for photos of telpher operations at Showa era stations, having thought they all disappeared with the demise of baggage service in the 80's.  I was shocked when my first hit was this:

 

"Your Dream Job as Telpher operator In Sata (Japan) is just a step away from you. We will soon get back to you with an Opportunity."

 

From the other hits, often related to ports, I take it that telpher is still used as a general term for cranes.

 

 

[bikkuri bahn]

Yes, apparently the term is used for any crane that uses a guide rail hoist, that can be found in many industrial applications:

https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%83%86%E3%83%AB%E3%83%8F+%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B3&biw=1051&bih=461&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwix2JGnwbPQAhWLzLwKHVhEDZ0Q_AUIBigB

[velotrain]

And this from Wiki.  I believe the British contributed much of the early technology to Japan, so the adaptation there makes sense.

 

 

Telpherage

 

One interesting offshoot of the aerial tram was the telpher system. This was an overhead railway, which was electrically powered. The carrier basket had a motor and two contacts on two rails. They were primarily used in English railway and postal stations. The original version was called telpherage. Smaller telpherage systems are sometimes used to transport objects such as tools or mail within a building or factory.

 

The telpherage concept was first publicised in 1883 and several experimental lines were constructed. It was not designed to compete with railways, but with horses and carts.^[13]

 

The first commercial telpherage line was in Glynde, which is in Sussex, England. It was built to connect a newly opened clay pit to the local railway station and opened in 1885

[kvp]

Imho there are three systems here with the same name. The oldest is the cable carried system which is essentially a ropeway. The second is an overhead rail based system that works like a monorail and is still in use as an alternative to conveyor belts in factories (for example to move car shells for painting and assembly). The third one is an overhead crane on an I beam that is in use everywhere as a simple way to lift things. In Japan i see them being used by mow crews (for loading equipment and rails) and in depots to move parts or entire cars around. (the large one used by JRC maintenance is in the process of getting retired) The most primitive variant is the chain driven type used by small shops and rail mow crews. I just wonder why this old term is used for all of these different systems.

[velotrain]

My understanding is that the system used to transport freight between platforms at Japanese railway stations in the Showa era (and perhaps earlier ?) is actually a fourth version, where the "carriage" is supported between a pair of rails (likely I-beams) on four sets of rollers (motorized), one at each corner.  I'm not even sure that's the complete situation, as I have the impression that the actual load is suspended below this carriage, and is raised up from and lowered to the platforms by a separate - yet integrated, mechanism.  In effect, the function is closer to that of a gantry crane in a steel storage yard, where the load is lifted in one section of the works, moved to a new location, and then lowered.

 

Part of the difficulty is the apparent scarcity of documentation.  I have yet to see a photo of one of these in operation.  It seems there were also stations - particularly on the Tohoku main line, that had a system of elevators on designated platforms that connected to a horizontal axis, which may have used a conveyor belt for moving the loads between the platform towers (or simply hand-rolled carts?).  At least two of these were apparently left in place over the past two decades, and one has even had some "facework" performed, in the form of replacement siding on the towers, and new roof structures.

 

See:  http://travel.lazybose.net/2012/01/201800.html

 

 

[katoftw]

I'm pretty sure the linked station is Shin-Yamaguchi/Ogori Station, which is in Chigoku.  But that elevator system and overhead bridges are gone since the photos were shot.

[velotrain]

Is that true for Koriyama station also?

 

http://namitetsu.seesaa.net/category/23129130-1.html

[katoftw]

https://www.google.com.au/maps/@37.3977316,140.3887756,38m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

Still there by the looks of it for Kroiyama.

 

edit//  You can see on the south ends of the Fukushima platforms where roofing has been added.  Most likely the old location of the lift towers.

Edited November 20, 2016 by katoftw

[velotrain]

After what seemed an interminable search, I just found the holy grail - a photo of a baggage cart being lifted by a Telpher system.  The tapered support structure behind the cart is very similar in design to the triangular truss shown in the Advance paper kit.  I have no idea when / why this would be used instead of the normal towers, although the photo suggests this is located on the main platform, instead of an island platform.

 

Notice the holes in the towers for the trolley and load to pass through.  I don't understand the function of the trusses that don't extend for the full length between the first two towers.  I have seen trusses used on other examples, and they look like they're there to strengthen the system, but they don't make sense unless they reinforce the entire bridge structure.

 

 

I don't at all understand what's happening in the bottom image, and don't even know if it's a Telpher system vs. an elevated cart walkway.  Why are there two levels?  Is the upper one a manway only, perhaps along with the Telpher support?  If it is a Telpher system, they would need to be careful that the cart does not snag on the railings of the lower level.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kvp]

This seems like a covered gantry crane setup. The A tower seems like an end (or side) tower. For the walkway i would say it's there to keep items falling down from hitting the trains and it's also convenient for the operator to cross with the cart, especially it there is only one person operating it or if it's a non motorised system. The upper railings seem maintenance only.

[velotrain]

Found another photo, this one of a station worker fitting the "lifting lid" onto a cart.  I'm guessing that after this is done, he will tighten up the cargo net.

 

Although the attachment design is different, the four cables will keep the load from rotating while it is transferred over the tracks.

 

 

[cteno4]

Also probably a single wire thru pullies so that it only requires a low power motor to raise it and it will go smoother at slower speeds and use smaller diameter cable.

 

Jeff

[velotrain]

Also probably a single wire thru pullies so that it only requires a low power motor to raise it and it will go smoother at slower speeds and use smaller diameter cable.

 

Jeff

 

Jeff - I don't follow what you're suggesting.  The Advance kit at least indicates the four cables continue to the platform that moves the carts between platforms.  No doubt they exist in Japan - and online somewhere, but I haven't been able to locate technical drawings of the machinery employed. 

[bikkuri bahn]

Found another photo, this one of a station worker fitting the "lifting lid" onto a cart. 

 

funny the warning off the right- "be careful about pigeon droppings" (lit. "dirty things, particularly "excretions")

[cteno4]

Jeff - I don't follow what you're suggesting.  The Advance kit at least indicates the four cables continue to the platform that moves the carts between platforms.  No doubt they exist in Japan - and online somewhere, but I haven't been able to locate technical drawings of the machinery employed.

 

The 4 cables may be a single cable that snakes thru pullies. If you look on the top where the cables go to the cart lid/lift it low like there are axle points at each cable entry. Basically a single cable loops thru pullies at top and bottom to create the 4 lines running down. Then just take up one end of the cable with the motor spool to draw it up. Pullies allow a smaller, lower power motor to lift more and do it slowly as needed.

 

Jeff

[marknewton]

Found some more interesting photos of telphers:

 

http://senrohaisenzu.cocolog-nifty.com/photos/uncategorized/2016/01/24/0619781224b04.jpg#_ga=1.137561591.672908113.1480031134

 

Tatsuno station, web page here - http://senrohaisenzu.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2016/02/19781224-c884.html

 

http://senrohaisenzu.cocolog-nifty.com/photos/uncategorized/2016/05/24/02img169.jpg#_ga=1.145769204.132937278.1480031277

 

Shiojiri station, web page here - http://senrohaisenzu.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2016/05/19781224-bd4d.html

 

http://hasekasuga.sakura.ne.jp/tetsudo/kansai/img/06a_0004.jpg

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

Edited December 20, 2017 by cteno4

[katoftw]

http://www.1999.co.jp/itbig49/10497905a2.jpg

 

Thought this might interest.

 

Hobby of Model Railroading 2018 No.912 Magazine

Edited December 20, 2017 by cteno4

[marknewton]

Very nice layout. N scale or 1/80th?

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[bikkuri bahn]

Mark, it’s an n scale layout. Based on the Tokaido Main Line either in the Nagoya area or Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture (probably the latter).

https://mobile.twitter.com/hobbysearch_mt/status/943373931263574016/photo/1